Peugeot Extends Diesel's Dominance of Le Mans

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Peugeot Extends Diesel's Dominance of Le Mans

Peugeot has at long last broken Audi's dominance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, placing one-two in a wild contest that once again saw diesels dominate.

The race was expected to be another demonstration of Audi's dominion over the Circuit de la Sarthe, where it had won five years running. But this year's race saw local favorites Peugeot run off like rabbits when le tricolour fell, and Audi - a team once so dominant, resilient, efficient and lucky - simply couldn't keep up.

Le Mans has emerged in recent years as a key proving ground for diesel technology, an Audi has long led the way with its R-series racers. Diesel offers some distinct advantages over gasoline - namely superior fuel economy and monstrous torque. The prestigious endurance race has allowed Audi and Peugeot to highlight the work they're doing with diesel engines, which are popular in Europe.

By the time the checkered flag waved Sunday afternoon, Peugeot's 908 HDi FAP diesel racers were sitting in first and second with Audi coming in third. It was as classic a win as you could imagine for David Brabham, Alexander Wurz and Marc Gene, who put Peugeot in the winner's circle for the first time 1993. They completed 382 laps of the 8.5-mile circuit in the V-12 twin-turbo diesel machine.

It used to be that the 24 Hours of Le Mans was ran at some sort of measured pace, but now it's essentially a 24-hour sprint. This puts incredible strain on the cars, drivers and teams and the stress was showing almost from the beginning.

The first third of the race was a real slugfest, with the beatings administered not by Audi - which was favored to win with its R15 diesel racers - or by its rivals Peugeot, but by Lady Luck herself. It wasn't long after the start that one of the three Audis on the grid went off at the corner called Indianapolis. A few hours later, a second Audi lost it at the entrance to the Porsche Curves. The third R15 was beset by one niggling problem after another, each of them slowly eroding the car's pace. Audi ultimately finished some 50 miles behind the leading Peugeot.

Peugeot was only marginally better in the luck department.

One of the factory Peugeots hit a competing team's Peugeot, fielded by Henri Pescarolo, and another required extensive repairs. Later, the Pescarolo team provided the biggest shunt of the race when the car driven by Benoit Treluyer had a huge off at The Esses. The car was rendered into chucks seemingly the size of an office desk but Treluyer is expected to make a full recovery.

All of the drama should have helped the Prodrive Lola-Aston Martins, but both Audi and Peugeot were running turbodiesels and so enjoyed better fuel economy than the glorious-sounding Aston V12s. Better fuel economy means less time in the pits and more time on the track.

Even better, Audi and Peugeot were running engines that cranked out a staggering 811 foot-pounds of torque. Pack that much torque into a car that weighs less than a Mazda Miata and you're looking at serious acceleration and serious fun for as long as you can dodge all the adversity thrown your way.

And dodging was what winners David Brabham, Alexander Wurz and Marc Gene did for 24 punishing hours in Peugeot No. 9, leaving them to stand atop the podium as hundreds of thousands of race fans swarmed the track beneath them, a growing desire for sleep slowly overcoming their elation at having won the greatest endurance race in the world.

And while diesels continue to dominate Le Mans, both Audi and Peugeot are looking ahead. Audi used lithium-ion batteries in the R15, and Peugeot is working on a diesel-electric hybrid racer that could be on the grid in 2011.